Cass County

2018–2019 ANNUAL REPORT

MESSAGE FROM THE

DISTRICT DIRECTOR

I am delighted to share a snapshot of results from

another successful year of partnership between Cass

County and Michigan State University (MSU) Extension.

Because of your continued support, we’ve been able to

make a difference in the lives of youth, families,

businesses and communities.

MSU Extension offers a broad range of research-based educational

services to county residents. Over this past year, we’ve empowered families

and individuals to live healthier lives, created opportunities for youth

leadership development, helped farmers with business management and

mental heath, and provided technical training to community leaders. Our

staff live and work alongside county residents, are rooted in community

relationships and are responsive to community needs.

We are grateful to our Cass County partners such as Midwest Energy, Cass

County Fairboard, Cass County Farm Bureau, Cass County Conservation

District, Cass County Parks, Southwestern Michigan College, Lewis-Cass

ISD, Villages of Edwardsburg & Cassopolis and many others for helping us

fulfill our mission in 2019. On behalf of the team serving Cass County,

thank you for another great year. We look forward to your continued

support. Julie Pioch, District Director

Hailey Harmon—4-H Program Coordinator

Jon Laporte—Farm Financial Management Educator

Nora Lee—Community Nutrition Instructor

Erin Young —Secretary

CONTACT Cass County MSU Extension

120 N. Broadway St

Cassopolis MI 49031

269-445-4438

www.msue.msu.edu

msue.cass@county.msu.edu

STAFF HOUSED IN CASS COUNTY

For the second year in a row, MSUE partnered

with Southwest Michigan College’s Educational

Talent Search to teach leadership skills to 13

young people in Cass County

Program Highlights

Cass County youth put on their lab coats on to study

the miracle of life by using the scientific method to

incubate chicken eggs.

4-H YOUTH DEVELOPMENT HIGHLIGHTS

Almost 15% of the youth population in Cass County are being

reached through 4-H youth development programs. In total, 1410

youth participated; 732 were registered in year long community

clubs, 498 in short term interest groups and 231 in school

enrichment programs.

Cass 4-H club youth were well represented at local and state

educational programs such as state animal shows, MSU

Extension’s pre-college program 4-H Exploration Days and civic

engagement programs such as Capital Experience and Citizen

Washington Focus, where they learned skills to enrich their

project experience as well as leadership and other life-long skills.

Volunteers are the heart of 4-H. There are 199 adult volunteers

who teach and mentor the 4-H youth in Cass County. The 4-H

Leaders’ Council is a made up of club leaders who volunteer to

provide educational program, promotional and policy support to

Extension’s 4-H youth programs. In 2019 the Council held

fundraisers to support Cass 4-H youth scholarships.

A new program called Showing Livestock…Fun, Fair and in My

Future! brought 18 excited youth ages 9 to 15 together to

experience working with animals for the first time. The program’s

goal was to introduce kids with limited knowledge of livestock to

several species and allow them to experience what it takes to

raise and show them. Local specialists, who were all former

4-Hers, worked with the youth on topics of swine, sheep, goats,

horse, poultry and rabbits. The youth learned animal care,

including a hands-on demonstration of how to administer shots.

This hands-on activity included trying an intramuscular injection

on an orange, and subcutaneous injections on a chicken

breast. The youth learned about raising animals for profitability

and had a session on swine which included a proper cooling of

the pigs (and kids) with a garden hose after their short mock

show. Interspersed with the educational sessions was plenty of

fun (wet) activities designed to encourage teamwork and

sportsmanship.

Let's Get Egg-cited About Embryology: Eleven youth put their lab

coats on to study the miracle of life using the scientific method

with this fun, hands-on program incubating chicken eggs! This

five-week program allowed youth to create an experiment, collect

data, and report their findings with their very own scientific poster.

This program showed youth the embryonic development of the

chicken, the hatching process, and the importance of each

development phase. This unique opportunity to follow the life-

cycle in such detail is one most people never experience. The

youth were happy to be part of it. Two hypotheses were

investigated: playing country music will increase egg hatchability

and the egg will increase in weight as the chick develops. The

first group found that playing country music did increase their

hatchability compared to the second group. The second group

had inconclusive data and decided to reject their hypothesis but

had great ideas on how to improve for next time. Students took

the chicks home and one of the roosters was shown at the Cass

County Fair. This program will be repeated in 2020.

Thanks to Midwest Energy and Communications

and Cass Farm Bureau for their financial support of

the 2019 Farm Safety Camp. 25 youth and 5 adults

learned about safety issues related to grain bins,

pesticides, propane, lawnmowers, tractors, ATV

and animals.

Program Highlights TRAINING LOCAL DECISION MAKERS

MSU Extension’s government and community vitality team

engages participants in learning good governance and how to

collaborate on solving complex issues in order to improve their

communities. Participants leave their educational programs

with a deeper understanding of civic roles and responsibilities,

increased confidence to make decisions, skills and information

to better manage community resources, knowledge of how to

implement best practices, and an understanding of the

importance of building quality places in Michigan. Programs

attended by Cass leaders in 2018-19 included:

Citizen Planner Online is a self-paced version of the team’s

signature classroom program. One local official from Cass

County completed the 15 hour program in 2018–19.

A bi-monthly webinar series targeting local elected officials

focused on current issues affecting Michigan local

government. Programs attended by Cass leaders included the

opioid epidemic; Gathering input of hard-to-reach residents;

Redistricting and gerrymandering; Preparing for the 2020

Census; Local government finance and autonomy; Impact of

state and federal politics on local government decision-

making.

New County Commissioner School trains newly elected

commissioners to help them be successful leaders in county

government. The program held in late 2018 was attended by

191 newly elected commissioners and county administrators

(5 from Cass County).

Zoning administration (ZA) is a key community development

function. If not done properly, the position can open a

community up to significant legal and financial risk. Done

properly, ZA contributes to community prosperity. Most ZA’s

have had no formal training and must learn on the job. Courts

expect them to know the rudiments of the law. MSU Extension

offers an intensive 16-hour training delivered over two days. In

2019 it was held in Grayling and Barry Counties and trained

71 zoning administrators (including one from Cass County).

MSU Extension provided effective meetings through

parliamentary procedure training to 25 Pokagon Band of

Potawatomi leaders in August 2019 in Dowagiac.

HEALTHY LAKES & ECOSYSTEMS

There are over 100 lake in Cass County, making the county a

desirable place to live and recreate. Protecting this important natural resources is vital to the economy and lifestyle of

Cass residents and visitors. Introduction to Lakes is an intensive six-week online course specially designed for those

interested in learning about inland lakes in which participants explore topics including lake ecology, watersheds, natural

shorelines, water law, aquatic plants, and citizen involvement. A total of 159 people took the course in 2019 including six

from Cass county. On-line sessions are accompanied by three live-streaming Ask an Expert sessions with MSU

Extension educators.

The Cooperative Lakes Monitoring Program had 311 citizen scientists enrolled in 2018-19 (19 from Cass). This program

is a partnership between MSU Extension, Michigan Lakes and Streams Association and MDEQ. It is designed to provide

resources and assistance to riparians and volunteers to be able to scientifically monitor the health of their local lakes.

CASS EMBRACES SBEI

MSU’s Sustainable Built Environment Initiative

(SBEI) offers a graphic visioning process that pro-

vides citizens with a set of images and recommen-

dations to guide improvements in their community

with a sustainability theme.

Imagine Cass brought together over 200 people to

create a vision for downtown Cassopolis in 2018.

Subsequently, MEC sponsored two more meet-

ings and in early 2019 the Village Council voted to

adopt a new master plan that included placemak-

ing designs developed through the public engage-

ment design process.

Edwardsburg was next to embrace the SBEI pro-

cess and in 2019 three meetings were held to

generate ideas for planning and design and to

build consensus in making Uptown Edwardsburg

welcoming, vibrant, attractive, and thriving.

Michigan State University Extension helps people improve their lives through an educational process that

applies knowledge to critical issues, needs and opportunities.

GROWER EDUCATION & SUPPORT

Agriculture is a key economic driver in the county. Cass farmers were well

represented at MSU Extension educational programs offered in 2018-19.

Relevant and timely information was provided to growers through on-farm

research and demonstration projects, on-line workshops such as the begin-

ning farmer series and interactive meetings for field crops farmers struggling

with planting decisions from 2019 spring weather conditions. Cass field crop

growers were the target audience for a workshop held in Cassopolis in

March to help farmers plan for a challenging season. MSU educators reach

out to growers via videos, electronic newsletters and timely articles published

in print and on the Internet to keep growers up-to-date on the latest research,

as well as best practices and weather conditions that will impact their crops.

With the multitude of issues faced by today’s farmers, including a declining

farm economy and unpredictable weather patterns, farm stress and farmer suicide are serious emerging issues being

focused on in 2019 by a multi-disciplinary MSU team. Resources are continuously being updated to help support farm-

ers and those who work with farmers.

Cass Agriculture Program Highlights

Research results are presented at on-farm

demonstration sites.

MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer, committed to achieving excellence through a diverse workforce and inclusive culture that encourages all people to reach their full potential. Michigan State University Extension programs and materials are open to all without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, religion, age, height, weight, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital status, family status or veteran status. Issued in furtherance of MSU Extension work, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Jeffrey W. Dwyer, Director, MSU Extension, East Lansing, MI 48824. This information is for educational purposes only. Reference to commercial products or trade names does not imply endorsement by MSU Extension or bias against those not mentioned. The 4-H Name and Emblem have special protections from Congress, protected by code 18 USC 707.

EMERGENCY PLANNING FOR

AFRICAN SWINE FEVER (AFS)

In early 2019, MSU Extension, Michigan Pork Producers

Association and Michigan Department of Agriculture and

Rural Development teamed up to address an important

topic for pork producers in the Cass County Area: African

Swine Fever. This meeting focused on protecting the

health of Michigan's pork industry, specifically from

foreign animal disease (FAD), including the very real

threat of AFS. Pork producers heard from a number of

experts regarding FAD and how to best be prepared for

an outbreak. Information shared included the likelihood of

an outbreak in the United States and what protocols

would be put in place if an outbreak occurred. MSU

Extension experts led an interactive session on preparing

for continued production if there was an outbreak, on

Secure Pork Supply Planning and on business continuity.

Pork producers were able to walk away from this meeting

with a better understanding of what will happen if there is

a case of AFS identified in Michigan, including how farms

will be quarantined, what will be required for a ‘movement

of animals’ permit if in an infected area and the role of the

biosecurity manager on the farm. Attendees indicated

they had a better understanding of the importance of

biosecurity and planning for an FAD outbreak.

ON-FARM RESEARCH

In January, the 2018 SMaRT on-farm research results

and recommendations for managing soybean cyst

nematodes were shared at six locations around the state,

including Dowagiac. Three hundred forty-two producers

attended, including 19 from Cass County. Open-ended

questions were asked to gather input regarding research

topics for 2019 and for recruiting new trial cooperators.

FRUIT MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

Fruit growing is a complex and ever-changing profession.

Producers and consultants are constantly challenged to

keep up with new information on pests, diseases, weeds,

management strategies, and regulations. Growers need

regular updates in order to use the most economical

strategies and at the same time protect the environment

and protect themselves, workers, and the public. Regular

training is needed for growers to maintain their Michigan

restricted pesticide applicators license. MSUE Fruit

educators conducted an 11 meeting series of fruit

management updates from April to the end of June for

local fruit growers and industry consultants Growers from

Van Buren, Berrien, Allegan, Cass, Kalamazoo, and Van

Buren Counties attended (with an average of 45

participants per meeting).